Gone
by T-Kiwi02
Summary: They should've seen it coming, but they didn't. [ONE-SHOT]


_**So, this really isn't my best one-shot ever, but it was this little idea I had gotten after a dream I had about the show. The dream was short, and I didn't remember most of it, so I just kinda stuck to one aspect of it. Anyway... this is my first attempt at a Hey Arnold fic... so, be gentle. Here we go.**_

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><p>He should've known something was up when she didn't show up to homeroom that day. She was probably running late, he thought. Catching up on sleep or having to make her own lunch before heading off to school. No, the football headed boy was not worried about his friend.<p>

The first couple of periods went by, and he was still not worried about her; he had not known that she still had yet to show up. He didn't have a class with her until after lunch, when they had History, Gym, then Math together. The first four periods dragged on for him. He wondered what class she arrived in, what her excuse was to the teachers, not that she really cared what they thought. They would just usher her, or any other student for that matter, to their seat so the lesson could continue.

Lunchtime was when he really should've realized something was wrong. Upon arriving at his lunch table, he found his best friend and his girlfriend already sitting there. The small half-Asian girl was deeply worried about her best friend. When her friend had not arrived by third period Honors English, she had tried calling her, to see where she was. Normally, the girl would've let her three friends know if she was skipping, or was too sick to go to school. But the five times the small girl had tried to call her friend, there was no answer.

The next three periods dragged on even longer than the first four for the blonde. He found himself glancing at the clock a lot more than usual, as well as checking his cell phone for a message, which he never did during class. He couldn't pay attention to the lessons, not even bothering to take notes, nor could he make himself participate fully in gym class. He was the first one out of the game of dodgeball, even before Eugene.

Once the final bell had finally rung, he found himself pushing through the crowd of students to find his friends. He found them waiting for him outside, away from the bus they usually took. Their missing friend did not live far from the high school, so they walked to her house, to avoid the delay of having to wait for all the bus stops. If she had been home, she was choosing not to answer the door, because the trio waited and waited for someone to answer their continuous knocking.

They had arrived to their smallest friend's house after thinking that their friend might've shown up there, especially if she had played hooky. They hadn't even gotten inside the large house when they saw it - a small white envelope addressed to the girl who lived there. With shaking hands, the petite girl read the note, the two boys read from over her shoulders.

_'Pheebs,_

_I'm sorry, but I just can't stay in Hillwood anymore. Everything has gotten worse since the Beeper Emporium closed last month; Bob is lashing out on every little thing that doesn't go his way, Miriam is hardly around, and when she is, she's not even really there. Olga, of course, is oblivious to all that's happening, as she's in New York trying to make it on Broadway. _

_Anyway, I'm not even sure where I'll be going. I just have to get far away from here. I'm really sorry. Tell Arnold and Gerald that I'm sorry too. You three have helped make the last few years tolerable, but I'm not sure how much you can do anymore. _

_Maybe I'll see you guys again someday._

_Love, _

_Helga'_

Arnold took the note from Phoebe as she cried onto Gerald's shoulder. The best friends shared a look of sorrow. His eyes then looked out to the sky, past all the buildings around them, wondering how far she had gotten, where she would end up. He sat down on the stoop, reading the note over once more, his heart filling up with pain and worry.

Just like that, Helga G. Pataki was gone.

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><p><em><strong>Good? Bad? <strong>_

_**Please let me know. I really appreciate it. **_

_**Like I said, it was kinda based off this dream where Helga ran away. I don't remember much of it, but I do remember that Arnold and the other kids went to look for her. Obviously, I didn't include that in this, I just kinda wanted to write this part of the whole thing.**_


End file.
